Nitrates?

How do you know if luncheon meats from the deli have nitrates in them? I'm told we are not to eat them with nitrates. In the past I never worried about this so I'm at a loss as to which luncheon meats are the better us. Can anyone enlighten me on the best choices? Thank you.

Ask the person in the deli if the meats have nitrates. If they don't know, ask to see the label. I find that deli meats at most grocery stores do have nitrates in them, unless they are marked otherwise. Trader Joe's has an uncured roast beef and Black Forest ham. Both are nitrate free. Also, all of the deli meat sold at Whole Foods is nitrate free. 

You were told by your surgeon not to eat nitrates? Hmmm... never heard that one. Not that I think they are good for you. The brand I buy without nitrites is Applegate farms. I find them tasty, I can't say that of all non-nitrite added food. I have tried their turkey bacon (has more protein than most turkey bacon), turkey, chicken, salami, and hotdogs - (although I did not like the taste of the organic version). I buy it at target or BJ's Wholesale club. They do have it other places, but they have a good selection and price.

Nitrites are naturally occurring in our foods, it is just the high doses we could get by eating cold cuts with added nitrites regularly.

Here's one article I found:

http://www.livescience.com/36057-truth-nitrites-lunch-meat-p reservatives.html

Boars Head brand has a lot of cuts with no added nitrates, no MSG, etc. They also publish good info about their full product line. 

Thank you south for your help! It's so confusing!